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Tight hamstring keeps Crawford out of lineup

5/6/13: Carl Crawford drives a solo home run to right off Trevor Cahill to cut the D-backs' lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third

By Austin Laymance
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MLB.com |

LOS ANGELES -- Carl Crawford was held out of the Dodgers' lineup Wednesday for the third time in eight days due to tightness in his right hamstring.

Crawford pinch-hit in the ninth inning with Skip Schumaker on second and the Dodgers trailing, 3-2. But he flied out to left to end the game.

Manager Don Mattingly planned to start the left fielder in the series finale against the D-backs but had to shuffle his lineup when trainer Sue Falsone told him Crawford's hamstring was "a little bit tight."

"I had kind of planned on playing him today, but when he comes in and he's a little bit tight, it's better than playing him and he ends up pulling it," Mattingly said Wednesday afternoon. "He's a little bit tender, but I don't know about tender as far as it's felt like something's going on. We're being cautious with the off-day [Thursday]."

Crawford was also held out of the lineup May 1-2 because of a tight hamstring. He started the past four games, going 5-for-20 with a solo homer on Monday.

Mattingly hoped to give right fielder Andre Ethier a day off Wednesday but had to change his plans when Crawford wasn't ready to go. Ethier went 1-for-4.

Dee Gordon replaced Crawford at the top of the lineup and was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Elian Herrera, recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, started in left field and went 1-for-3.

Austin Laymance is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.